Everyday stress is a factor that affects both our emotional and physical health, and our food choices during these stressful times can play a key role in how stress impacts the body.
Recently, research carried out by the University of Birmingham has discovered that cocoa, particularly that containing a high level of flavanols, could offer a defense against the negative effects of high-fat foods, common during stressful situations.
This finding provides new insights into how flavonols, antioxidant compounds found in foods such as apples, tea and, of course, cocoa, could help mitigate the damage that stress causes to the cardiovascular system.
During periods of stress, many people tend to turn to comfort foods that are often high in fat, a response that, while rewarding in the moment, can have detrimental consequences for vascular health. Eating fatty foods has previously been shown to affect blood circulation and blood vessel function, which could exacerbate the effects of stress. However, this study suggests that a cocoa drink with flavonols could partially counteract these effects, favoring the protection of the cardiovascular system during and after stressful episodes.
Dr. Catarina Rendeiro, associate professor in nutritional sciences and lead author of the study, explained that the goal of the research was to determine whether flavanols, when incorporated into a high-fat meal, could help reduce the negative impact of stress on the body. body. According to her, “we know that when people are stressed, they tend to gravitate toward high-fat foods, which can impair blood vessel recovery. “This study shows that adding a food rich in flavonols may be an effective strategy to mitigate the damage caused by these dietary choices.”
The experiment was carried out with 23 healthy adults, who were invited to consume a breakfast consisting of butter croissants with cheese and whole milk, along with a cocoa drink with high or low flavanol content. Subsequently, participants were faced with a stressful mental task that progressively increased in difficulty. During the experiment, the participants’ physiological response was measured, including blood pressure, heart rate, and blood flow in the vessels of the forearm.
The results showed that, when consuming the drink with low flavanol content, the participants’ blood vessels were compromised even after the stress had passed, with a notable decrease in their function. In contrast, those who drank the flavanol-rich cocoa drink did not experience the same deterioration, suggesting that these compounds could protect vascular health under stressful circumstances. These findings were published in the journal Food and Function.
Cocoa, especially minimally processed cocoa, is recommended as a viable option to obtain the benefits of flavanols, since highly processed products often lose much of their properties. Additionally, if cocoa is not to some people’s taste, other sources rich in flavanols, such as green and black tea, or even berries, can also be a great alternative.
Professor Jet Veldhuijzen van Zanten, an expert in biological psychology and co-author of the study, added that this type of research can be key to offering people simple but effective tools to mitigate the negative effects of stress on health. “Modern life is stressful, and any changes we can make to protect our health from the symptoms of stress are positive,” he said. For those with lifestyles that lead them to reach for quick and easy foods in times of pressure, incorporating small doses of flavanols into their diet could make a significant difference.
This study opens the door to new ways of addressing stress-related health problems, providing simple alternatives that, although modest, could have a notable impact on long-term health. In this way, consuming foods with flavanols in times of stress could be an accessible strategy to improve cardiovascular well-being, especially for those who face constant stress in their daily lives.
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